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It is a last resort for solicitors to become involved in
arrangements concerning children. Parents should always try
to come to some kind of agreement in respect of their children.
Unfortunately it is not always possible for parents to agree.
Cheesman and company believe a solicitor's role in a dispute
concerning children is to facilitate agreement by negotiation.
An application to the court for an order is the last resort.
Contact
"Contact" is the term used to describe to the periods of time when a parent who does not have the day-to-day care of the children spends time with them.
Residence
"Residence" is the term used to describe with which parent the children will live. If parents are in dispute it may be necessary for the court to decide this question. A Residence Order can be made in favour of one or both parents ("a joint residence order").
Parental Responsibility
When a child is born, the mother automatically has parental responsibility. So does the father, if:
- He is married to the mother when the child is born; or;
- He is registered as the father on the baby's birth certificate (for children born after 1 December 2003).
The unmarried father of the child can get parental responsibility by:
- Marrying the child's mother;
- Making a Parental Responsibility Agreement with the mother;
- Re-registering the child's birth (if the father was not on the birth certificate and if the mother signs a statutory declaration that he is the child's father);
- Getting a parental responsibility order from the court; or
- Getting a residence or special guardianship order from the court.
The court can grant an order to a father, but the simplest way is to enter into a Parental Responsibility Agreement.
Prohibited Steps Orders
An order to prevent something happening to a child. E.g. changing school, leaving the country, change of name.
Specific Issue Orders
Made when the court is asked to make a decision on an important aspect of the child's life e.g. religious upbringing, schooling.
Care Proceedings
If a care order is made the local authority becomes responsible
for making sure that children are safe and are well cared for
by their parents or the person looking after them. This often
involves a conflict with the parents.
If social services receive information that leads them to
conclude that your child may be harmed, they have a duty to
take action to protect the child. Social services must get
the court's permission to take any action you do not agree
with. If social services believe that your child is suffering
significant harm or is likely to suffer significant harm,
they can apply to the court for a care order
Child Abduction
Child abduction generally concerns a child who has been taken
by one parent away from the other or has not been returned
home in accordance with existing agreements. Sometimes it
concerns a child who has been taken by grandparents or other
family members away from the parents.
There is often a foreign element to such proceedings.
Immediate and robust steps are always required to deal with
an issue of child abduction.
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